Two things can be true at once. The difference between a team who struggles for bowl eligibility and one who competes for championships is both razor thin and a mile wide.
We clearly are a team struggling for bowl eligibility this year. But what is different between this year and last is who our contributors are and the way we are losing.
The two marquee programs in our sport right now, unfortunately are bammer and uga. They are definitely not struggling for bowl eligibility. But look at a few of their games last year…
bama at South Florida (7-6, 4-4) W 17-3
bama at TAMU (7-6, 4-4) W 26-20
bama vs Arkansas (4-8, 1-7) W 24-21
bama at Auburn (6-7, 3-5) W 27-24
That’s 4 games against some shit teams where they were lucky to get out alive. This is a bama team that won the SEC and was an OT away from playing for, and likely winning, a National Title.
UGA vs USC (5-7, 3-5) W 24-14
UGA at Auburn (6-7, 3-5) W 27-20
UGA at GaTech (7-6, 5-3) W 31-23
Again, a trio of games that easily could have gone the other way but the talent won out and the team many consider the best of 2023 survived another week.
There is a perception, and it’s easy when we are so focused on our team and don’t watch other teams as closely, that we are miles away from those two teams because here we are struggling to make a bowl while they steam roll their way to the playoffs every year.
The difference is the talent. This is a continuation of the post by @StatsMatter that shows if we just continue recruiting the way we did last year, the way we are this year, and the way it looks like we will for the 2026 class, we will have the talent that those two teams have. We will still have a stinker or two each year and this post is evidence that those teams certainly will/do too.
We clearly are a team struggling for bowl eligibility this year. But what is different between this year and last is who our contributors are and the way we are losing.
The two marquee programs in our sport right now, unfortunately are bammer and uga. They are definitely not struggling for bowl eligibility. But look at a few of their games last year…
bama at South Florida (7-6, 4-4) W 17-3
bama at TAMU (7-6, 4-4) W 26-20
bama vs Arkansas (4-8, 1-7) W 24-21
bama at Auburn (6-7, 3-5) W 27-24
That’s 4 games against some shit teams where they were lucky to get out alive. This is a bama team that won the SEC and was an OT away from playing for, and likely winning, a National Title.
UGA vs USC (5-7, 3-5) W 24-14
UGA at Auburn (6-7, 3-5) W 27-20
UGA at GaTech (7-6, 5-3) W 31-23
Again, a trio of games that easily could have gone the other way but the talent won out and the team many consider the best of 2023 survived another week.
There is a perception, and it’s easy when we are so focused on our team and don’t watch other teams as closely, that we are miles away from those two teams because here we are struggling to make a bowl while they steam roll their way to the playoffs every year.
The difference is the talent. This is a continuation of the post by @StatsMatter that shows if we just continue recruiting the way we did last year, the way we are this year, and the way it looks like we will for the 2026 class, we will have the talent that those two teams have. We will still have a stinker or two each year and this post is evidence that those teams certainly will/do too.
